After graduating from high school, I worked in the Geriatrics section of a hospital. Although you would think that I would have experienced death several times. I only had one patient die under our care and it was during a shift where I wasn't working. I was so confused that day when I cam in and heard that one of my favorite patients had passed away. After reading Gone from my Sight I finally understood the signs. She had been begun the dying process for a while. She wouldn't eat and I thought that was because she was senile and not hungry. She wouldn't speak and was unhappy with most of the nurses but she would always smile when I was taking care of her. I thought she was just senile and no longer coherent. Besides that she seemed fine, so I was very confused by her death. Now I finally understand.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Ignoring
Since the beginning of this class, I realized just how much I have ignored death and dying. It has always been something I had preferred not wasting too much time thinking about. Quite frankly, it did and still does scare me. Now, however, twice a week I am reminded of it. I am a biology major so this class is far from what I usually have in my major. It is so thought provoking, I am really enjoying it.
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I understand completely where you are coming from because I am always having to console those who are not familiar with death and someone close to them has passed away. I have a very big family and I've known a lot of people throughout my short lifetime and it seems like wherever I turn, death is always there. Just yesterday I found out that one of my co-workers died. I was one of the only people at my job that knew her on a personal level but it seems like no one really knows how to react or what to say. Two weeks ago, a friend of the family passed away as well. I think it has gotten to the point where I am numb in a sense and I have come to accept it in a manner in which I am not grieving much which is not a good thing!
ReplyDeleteI also was reassured when reading Gone From My Sight of loved ones who have gone through that process or are going through it now. I have a grandmother who is losing her memory severly and almost refuses to eat. The book was so right when it said that's the hardest part for loved ones to accept. Maybe because her medicine is in the pudding and we need her to eat it, or maybe we just want to see her eat something. But I hope she sticks around a lot longer, but I won't be trying to make her eat anymore after learning how it hinders the process of death.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I tend to think about death a lot and have always seemed to do so. Taking this class has allowed me to think more critically about death and the grieving processes, as well as accepting that I will die. I have noticed that a lot of my friends and family tend to avoid the subject of talking about death, but why? It seems that many of us are scared of the day when our life ends and a new one hopefully begins and therefore, we are scared to talk about it openly.
ReplyDeleteI never really thought much about death either...not until my grandma's health started failing last year. I had two other family members die last year as well, and it wasn't until I "realized" my grandma was going to die too that I started thinking about death. When I would go to visit her, I tended to avoid the idea that one day she was going to die. This was mostly because I never handled death very well. To educate myself, I read all of the stuff hospice gave us and it helped me understand all the signs. I was able to recognize the signs as they started happening, and through this process I was finally able to accept the idea that my grandma was dying. I'm grateful to be able to take this class because I know now how I can handle things differently next time. Now I won't avoid it so much, and I won't be as uncomfortable around a dying person. While part of me wishes I could have taken this before my grandma died, I'm happy that I'm learning all of this while I'm still young.
ReplyDeleteI think that we tend to ignore death until someone extremely dear to us passes. We see others go through losing their loved ones, watch them grieve, hear them cry, an try to comfort. No one truly understands it until they experience it. I think the ignorance in involuntary though. I also think that the ignorance is also a product of taking certain people for granted, expecting them to be there everyday when you wake up, if you wake up. It's an ignorance that can only be corrected once one experiences loss. You have to ask yourself the question: What if tomorrow...?
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